02/27/14 02/27/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! and could result in unintended and negative consequences. after weighing all of the arguments, i have vetoed senate bill 1062 moments ago. >> as arizona governor jan brewer because and anti-gay bill and a federal judge strikes down texas a same-sex marriage ban, we will speak with the legendary "star trek" actor and gay rights

activist george takei. >> anytime you need to say the word gay, you can simply say the gay. you could safely proclaim your supportive to gay marriage. if you're a no more festive mood, you can march in the takei pride parade. >> we will speak with george takei about the attack on gay rights, growing up in a japanese internment camp during world war ii. and we will look at how fracking poses not only a threat to the nation's water supply, but also the air. this stuff starts happening and i noticed there into my noseing up and there is this heaviness on my chest, and it feels like an elephant sitting here. it feels like somebody is choking the air out of me.

i can't get a breath. >> fracking the eagle ford shell. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. brewer hasernor jan vetoed a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny service to lgbt people. in recent days, the bill generated a nationwide chorus of condemnation, not just from lgbt activist, but also from major companies like apple and delta, and even some of the same republican lawmakers who voted for it. on the same day as brewer's veto, a federal judge in texas struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, although he issued a stay on the ruling while texas appeals. we will have one of victories in arizona and texas after headlines with the actor and activist george takei.

in ukraine, pro-russian government has seized in troll of parliament days after the ouster of the to be critically elected president. russian news reports a president viktor yanukovych is now in russian territory and seeking protection. months ofev following protests over his decision to strengthen ties with russia and not europe. assia, meanwhile, is running second day military exercises near the ukraine border. the rest of the secretary of state was in kiev on wednesday to play support for the new government. >> the first up is the formation of a new government. sit downortunity to with that new government and identify the plans of the new ukrainian government, their diagnosis of the problem, and then identify specifically what we can do to help. >> lawmakers in ukraine unveiled

an interim government wednesday to be led by prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk. he is a leader who topped u.s. diplomat victory and clearly favors an elite phone call released before ouster.ch's >> i think he is the economic experience, the governing experience. >> in venezuela, five intelligence agents have been arrested for the shooting deaths of protesters amidst violent antigovernment protests that have killed at least 16 people. three other agents and six police officers were arrested on monday. on wednesday, president nicolas maduro held a national peace conference aimed at quelling the crisis, but the opposition did not attend. >> a new report by amnesty

international finds israeli soldiers in the occupied west bank are killing palestinian civilians with impunity and what could amount to war crimes. according to you and data, 45 palestinians were killed in the west bank between 2011 and 2013, including six children. amnesty international researcher saleh hijazi describe the reports findings. the impunity they enjoy, and because there is lack of proper investigations that meet international standards. the you have in israel in occupied territories is the military investigated. this is not an independent investigation. >> a member of the cuban five is due to end his prison sentence today after more than 15 years behind bars in the u.s. fernando gonzalez is expected to be transferred to an immigration prison and deportation back to cuba. the cuban five were arrested in 1998 and later convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. they say they were just trying

to monitor violent right-wing cuban exile groups. another member was released in 2011. three others remain in prison. in environmental news, a probe by the state department's inspector general has found a contractor who analyze the environmental impact of the keystone xl oil pipeline did not violate conflict of interest rules, even though it previously performed work for the pipeline company transcanada. environmentalists said the contractor failed to properly disclose industry ties before issuing a report but downplayed the pipelines harms. president obama is expected to issue a decision in the next few months on the pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from canada to the u.s. gulf coast. hundreds of protesters plan to lock themselves to the white house gates on sunday to urge obama to reject the pipeline, which they say would be a disaster for the climate. in related news, federal regulators say railcars being used to transport oil from north

dakota's mocon shale pose an unacceptable safety risk. the cars were involved in recent explosions, including one in québec a killed 47 people in july. remarks came a day after regulators issued an emergency order restrictors ash stricter testing to measure how explosive oil is before it is transferred. recent tests found more than half of the oil samples bound for transfer by train from the bakken region were misclassified. the region is fueling a boom in testslling gas, but indicate oil there is more explosive than other types. australian authorities say a massive fire at an open pit coal burn ford continue to months. the fire has already burned for two weeks, enveloping the town of morwell. victoria's chief health officer spoke wednesday. >> our priority is to concentrate on the short-term health effects.

we know the fine particles in the smoke can get down into the lungs and can cause short term health effects like worsening of heart or lung conditions. we know the people who were most vulnerable are people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions, children, the elderly, smokers, and pregnant women. >> the use of solitary confinement in u.s. prisons was under discussion on capitol hill this week. would this is at a hearing led by senator dick durbin of illinois described how solitary confinement devastates families, allows guards to isolate prisoners whom they have sexually assaulted, and drives prisoners to hopelessness. senator durbin said more than half a prison suicide take place in solitary. among the speakers was a former louisiana death row prisoner who spent 15 years on death row in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day before being exonerated in 2012. >> i do not condone with those

who have committed serious offenses have done, but i also don't condone what we do to them when we put them in solitary for years on end and treat them as subhuman. as ae better than that civilized society. we should be better than that. i would like to believe the vast majority of the people in the united states would be appalled if they knew what we're doing to inmates in solitary confinement and understood that we are torturing them for reasons that have little, if anything, to do with protecting other inmates or prison guards from them. week, new york state agreed to reform its use of solitary confinement, including banning its use in disciplining prisoners under 18. lawmakers in massachusetts are considering a bill that would ban the shackling of prisoners who are giving birth. temporaryissued regulations to limit the practice last week. advocates say it is not unusual for women to be handcuffed

hospital beds while in labor. 18 states have passed laws to restrict the shackling of pregnant prisoners. a new senate investigation finds the swiss banking firm credit suisse aided tax evasion i wealthy u.s. clients who have stashed billions of dollars outside the reach of u.s. tax collectors. the report accuses the bank of an array of tactics, from creating offshore shell entities to establishing a branch as work airport where elite clients used secret elevators operated by remote control. the ceo blamed the abuses on small -- a small group of bankers at the firm. >> the management team regrets deeply that despite the industry-leading appliance measures we put in place, we had some private bankers who appeared to have violated u.s. law. >> wednesday marked the two-year anniversary of the death of unarmedmartin, the african-american 17-year-old who was shot dead by george

zimmerman in sanford, florida. zimmerman's acquittal now and i the country on issues of race and rights in the criminal justice system. rallies were held nationwide wednesday to mark the two years since the killing. >> we're all trayvon. fathers, sisters, brothers, grandfathers. the matter who you are, what you're doing or where you're going, if you believe in yourself, believe in him, too. >> i have a 20-year-old. [indiscernible] i am praying that my child may get back. >> the anniversary of trayvon martin's death came less than two weeks after jury acquitted michael dunn of murder in the killing of another unarmed african-american 17-year-old in florida, jordan davis. dunn faces at least six years in

prison after he was convicted of attempted murder for shooting 10 times that a vehicle full of teenagers after a dispute over loud music. officers in michigan who killed an african american homeless man accused of stealing a cup of coffee will not face charges. 2012, saginaw police fired 47 shots at milton hall, striking him 11 times. hall had a history of mental illness and reportedly tried to defend himself with a pocket knife, at one point even calling 911 to plead for help as officers surrounded him. on tuesday, federal officials said there was not enough evidence of willful misconduct to prosecute the charges who also previously avoided state charges. milton hall's mother has filed suit against the city of saginaw. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners

and viewers from around the country and around the world. in a major victory for civil rights advocates, arizona's republican governor jan brewer has vetoed a bill wednesday that would have allowed businesses to deny services to lgbt people. >> it does not address specific concerns related to religious liberty in arizona. i have not heard of one example in arizona where business owners alleges liberty has been violated. the bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences. after weighing all of the arguments, i have vetoed senate bill 1062 moments ago. >> the bill was passed by both houses of the arizona legislature earlier this month and sparked outcry not only from human rights activists, but also age or corporations. delta, petsmart, american airlines group, marriott, and

apple were among the many companies that urged governor brewer to block the bill. some comedies threaten to pull out of arizona altogether. governor brewer also faced pressure from within her own party to reject the bill. three republican state senators sent brewer a letter urging her to veto the bill just days after they voted for it, along with the rest of the state senate republican caucus. the senators wrote that public outcry over the law was causing arizona immeasurable harm. the arizona bill is similar to ones that recently failed in idaho and kansas, and to one under consideration in utah. >> meanwhile, in another victory for marriage equality advocates, a federal judge in texas declared same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on wednesday. the case was filed last fall on behalf of to same-sex couples. togethere have been for 17 years. the other couple, shortly after the ruling, the address the reports. >> what i want to say

[indiscernible] it may be the first step, but it is an awesome first up. >> we look forward to the day when after 17 years we can finally be married. >> for all of this and more, we're joined by one of the country's most well-known champions of gay rights, the legendary actor and activist george takei for best known for ."aying lt. sulu on "star trek he promised to boycott arizona if the anti-gabriel became law. george takei, welcome to democracy now! what was your reaction late yesterday when you heard jan brewer, the governor of arizona, vetoing the bill? surprised.ot we expected her to veto the bill. what was surprising was that both houses of the arizona legislature passed such a bill.

that house is dominated by right-wing religious extremists and it is not really representative of the people of arizona. we own property up in the white mountains. my husband brad was born there. so we have a vested interest and we know many, many people. we have family there. we have many friends there. and these people are not represented by these right wing extremists in the legislature. the veto was not a surprise. .e expected that you cited all of the major corporations -- >> sports teams. >> the nfl, absolutely. we did not think the governor of all,mage -- first the reputation, and secondly, the economy -- of arizona anymore than what the legislature had done. nextpecially with the

super bowl scheduled for arizona. what about the extraordinary situation with legislators that voted for the bill been requesting that jan brewer veto it? to at to rick turn republican state senator who supported the bill, allowing businesses to refuse gay people under this -- on religious beliefs. >> the bottom line for us and those who voted for it, and it was a majority in both chambers, is it is as basic as religious freedom. you could say it might be preemptive after we saw what has taken place in some other states, but we think it is nothing more and nothing less than protecting religious freedom in our state and we take that very seriously. >> he was not one of those who after changed their mind, but after her decision, he said, i'm

started hear that governor brewer has vetoed this bill. i'm sure it was a difficult choice for her, but a sad day when were taking liberties is considered controversial. is one of the three who change their mind. these people do not listen and they do not think. the democratic minority in both houses of the legislature clearly stated that this was using religious freedom as a veil to cover the very simply, personal prejudice, and nothing more than that. and yet steve pierce says, i heard nothing about prejudice, and that is why voted for it. and now i understand and so i am voting against it. or i'm urging the governor to veto it. these legislators have no business being in public service, making public policy. they need to be removed. we're going to be very active in the campaign to remove these

people who have no right to be in the public office. >> i want to turn to rush limbaugh talking about the arizona bill on tuesday. >> the governor is being bullied by the homosexual lobby in arizona and elsewhere. she is being bullied for the nationwide drive by media and by certain elements of corporate america. in order to advance the gay agenda. i guess in that circumstance, admirable. in fact, this kind of bullying is honorable. >> george takei? >> we have to consider the source. what the legislation was doing was to refuse service to gays and lesbians or anyone that disagrees with the business people's religion. so a muslim taxi driver could ,efuse to take a jewish person

or a single woman traveling by herself. rush limbaugh has no credibility at all. the legislation was trying to write in prejudice, and to use his words, bullying and coercion into civil law and that is not allowed. a great have changed deal. when you have this massive corporate lobby putting pressure , isn't your traditional, you know, gay and lesbian activist and their supporters -- you had corporate america saying no to prejudice. >> because they recognize the economic realities here. g power as well as our allies as well as -- you know, i maintain the majority of americans are good, decent people, and they will not tolerate this kind of abuse of a

legal process. the corporations recognize that as well. marriott, american airlines, delta airlines, apple was going to build a manufacturing plant in mesa, arizona -- vetott romney tweeted to the bill. >> leadership on the republican side. the two u.s. senators from the arizona side as well as the secretary of state and the arizona treasurer. it was overwhelming. rational, decent, fair-minded people. >> i want to ask you about the events in texas. on wednesday, a federal judge declared same-sex marriage ban in texas unconstitutional. this couple was legally married five years ago and part of the lawsuit. they were married and wanted

texas to recognize their union. committed we're all to our families so we are committed to this cause. we will continue it until we have no avenues left to repeal. >> your reaction to the texas decision? >> it is consistent with all that is been happening. there are 17 states now that have marriage equality, plus the national capital, washington, d.c. now there are states like utah, very conservative states. another conservative state, oklahoma and virginia, where the same kind of federal ruling has come down. that to thealing appellate court. oklahoma has indicated they will go with the utah appeal. texas being rolled unconstitutional is all

consistent with the way things are going. inevitably, when we are enjoying this kind of legislative or judicial victories i'm a the backlash -- victories, the backlash will come and that is what arizona is. and the same kind of ill that arizona tried to write into law is being considered by other states like south dakota and other states. but i think the overwhelming public reaction and the decent, fair-minded people's reaction will put a stop to the others. it is patently unconstitutional. we come back from break, we want to talk to you, the helmsman of the starship enterprise, about your life, by your activism. i don't know if you're the most active person on facebook with your 6 million followers, but it is astounding your activity

there on all sorts of issues. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. george takei is our guest. stay with us.

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we continue our conversation with the actor and gay rights activist george takei, best known for playing the role of lt. sulu on the original "star trek." startedis episode on

1672 .1, the starship enterprise is exploring the planet alpha 100 77. a transporter malfunction leaves some of the crew stuck, character.akei's he radios back to captain kirk in this scene. >> status report. now 41 degrees below zero. >> copy. it should not be much trouble. >> you think you can find a long rope somewhere and laura's down a pot of hot coffee -- lower us down a pot of hot coffee? >> i'll see what we can do. >> rice wine will do if you're short on coffee. >> george takei playing lt. sulu in "star trek."

playan see george takei "allegiance: an american musical." to play tells the story for japanese-american family was relocated from their farm after the attack on pearl harbor and placed in internment camp in wyoming. this parallels his own family's history. >> in january, new documentary premiered at the sundance film festival called, "to be takei" which follows takei and is husband, brad, as they work on allegiance, as well as his everyday life is a famous actor and activist. this is a clip from the film. >> my goodness, they're lining up outside. thank you all. thank you. i met george a couple of years ago.

he was the first openly gay character. it was such a natural and storyline. i was inspired by george. >> how are you? >> that is very impressive. >> can you put "oh my" on their? just pretend the cameras aren't there. that is how i do it. >> you determine your destiny. i don't believe in negativity. if i did, it usually comes true. i and -- i am my own life have been the beneficiary of an optimistic view of life. i live today is much better than when i was a child. betterife today is much than when i was a child. >> that is from the new documentary "to be takei" about george takei.

you are born in -- >> los angeles. >> at the age of eight -- >> no, the age of five. it wasn't just my birth in the u.s.. my mother was born in sacramento, california. my father was a severance his skin. they were northern californians. they met in los angeles. i was born in southern california. there is no north/south divide in our family. we are americans. -- my parentse have passed now -- citizens of this country. we had nothing to do with the war. we simply happen to look like people from pearl harbor. but without charges, without trial, without due process, the fundamental pillar of our justice system from a we were

summarily rounded up. love the japanese-americans on the west coast -- all of the japanese-americans on the west coast, primarily, were sent off to 10 barb wire prison camps with machine guns, since regards. it was in some of the most desolate places in the country. blistering hot desert of arizona, of all places. our family was sent two thirds of the way across the country, the farthest east and the swans of arkansas. --is from this experience when i was a teenager, my father told me our democracy is very fragile, but it is a true people's democracy -- both as strong and as great as the people can be. but it is also as fallible as people are. that is why good people had to

be actively engaged in the process, sometimes holding democracy's feet to the fire in order to make it a better, truer democracy. >> if i'm not mistaken, the governor of california actor in the interment process was earl warren, who later became a justice of the supreme court, perhaps one of the most liberal justices, but he supported those efforts back then. hysteriallustrates the that ran throughout the country. actually, earl warren was the attorney general of the state of california at the time. he took a note on the constitution. he knew the constitution. but knowing the constitution and knowing what he was going to do was going to be against the constitution, his ambition took over. he wanted to be governor. and he ran on the get rid of the japs platform, and won. as you stated, he later went on to become the liberal chief

oftice of the supreme court the united states. so even with the supreme court, there is that human fallibility. the good people have to being gauged in the process. and that is what is so shameful about the arizona legislature. that people like that, people who don't think, people who don't listen, and people who do damage to the state get elected and dominate legislature. >> february 19, the anniversary called the day of interment -- >> the day of remembrance. >> february 19, 1942, the executive order requiring interment of all u.s. residents of japanese ancestry. presidentral democrat franky d roosevelt. >> what did you understand at

the time as a five-year-old? >> i was a five-year-old. my father told us that we are going on a long vacation to a place called arkansas. it was an adventure. i thought everyone took vacations by leaving home in a railroad car with armed soldiers at both ends of the car, sitting .n wooden benches and whenever we approached a town, we were forced to draw the curtains, the shade. we were not supposed to be seen by the people out there. we thought that was the way things happened. we saw people crying. we thought, well, why are they crying? daddy said we're going on a vacation. so we were innocent children. when we arrived in the swamps of arkansas, there were these aren't wire fences and sentry towers.

children are amazingly adaptable. the barbed wire fence became no more intimidating than the chain link fence around the school playground. and the towers were just part of the landscape. we adjusted to lining up three times a day do you lousy food in a noisy mess hall. and at school, we began every school day with the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i could see the barbed wire fence and the sentry towers right outside my schoolhouse window as i recited the words "with liberty and justice for all." in innocent child unaware of the irony. >> once your family was released from the camps, the process of putting our lives by together, what had happened your possessions and your home? talk about that process and while -- as well. >> we lost everything. we were given a one-way ticket

to wherever in the united states who wanted to go too, plus $20. and many people were very embittered about the west coast experience and they chose to go to the midwest like chicago or milwaukee or further east to new jersey, new york, boston. my parents decided to go back to los angeles. we were most familiar there. but we found it was very difficult. housing was impossible. they would deny us housing. jobs were very, very difficult. my father's first job was as a dishwasher in a chinatown restaurant. only other asians would hire us. our first home was on skid row with the stench of urine everywhere and those scary, smelly, ugly people lined up

leaning on brick walls. they would stagger around and barf right in front of us. i baby sister, who is now five years old, said, mama, let's go back home -- meaning behind the barbed wire fences. we had adjusted to that. and coming home was a horrific, traumatic experience for us kids. >> we're talking to george takei . if you recognize that was, yes, it is lt. sulu. how did you go from that expressed to becoming one of the most famous actors in the united states? when asked to how long you did "star trek" it seems to me it went on for decades and you said it was just three years. >> once we were canceled, the syndicators put us on five days a week. some people thought we had 1000 episodes. but it is the same episodes from

three seasons being rerun over and over again. >> how did you go from that interned child to the actor that you are today? >> well, i loved acting. i love performance. one of my grammar school chief in a an indian thanksgiving pageant. that was thrilling. , it's ok tor said be interested in the arts, culture, theater, but you don't make a living at it. he was in real estate by that time. i think he fancied having an &chitect son and having takei real estate development. i would design the buildings and he would develop them. so like a good son, i began my college career as an architecture student at

berkeley. fire inr two years, the the belly kept getting hotter and hotter. so i came back down to los angeles and girded my loins for knockdown drag out debate with my father and said, daddy, i want to go -- i want to be honest with myself. i want to test my wings. i want to study acting at the actors studio in new york. my father said, yes, i know about them. they are a fine, distinguished, respected acting school, but they won't give you a diploma when you finish your schooling their. and your mother and i want you to have that legitimacy. so you're able had a kid and will do it anyway, let me remind you, new york is a crowded

place, competitive place, and an expensive lace, and yet to be prepared to do it all on your own. town at right here in ucla, they have a fine theater arts department. and if you study their and finish, they will give you a diploma. you're legitimately educated. your mother and i want you to have that. so if you choose ucla, we will subsidize you. so you choose. new york on your own, or ucla subsidies. i made a self. i am a practical kid. [laughter] >> and then the jump to the "star trek" role? did you ever imagine that "star trek" would become this or have this cold following for so many years afterwards? >> it turned out that he knew best because i was seen in the

student production at ucla, seen by a casting director from warner bros. who was in the audience. he plucked me out of that and put me in my first feature film about alaska, "ice palace." so breaking into movies was a piece of cake, actually. advice. my father's and the same casting director put in a word for me later on when gene roddenberry was casting for "star trek." with that iconic, legendary now, sci-fi tv series. "star trek."out it broke ground in so many ways. we all grew up on it. it was a most diverse cast, to

say the least -- women, people of color. who put this together? what was the brainchild? >> gene roddenberry was the visionary, creator and producer, and wrote some of the episodes. when i first went in for the interview, he shared his philosophy and his concept. the key thing was, he said -- the story will take place -- the majority of the story will take place on this vast starship, space craft but we're calling it a starship. and this starship will be populated by about 1000 professional scientists, engineers, people that are necessary to make this ship move. and this starship as a metaphor for starship earth.

in the strength of the starship is in its diversity. coming together for people from different parts of this planet commit people from different cultures, races, languages, faiths come and ideas. working together in concert in working out the differences in finding the common ground and that is what is going to move this ship forward. so you sell that visually. but you also saw the nonvisual diversity at the time of the cold war, we had a member of the russian crew -- the navigator. so it was that kind of diversity that gene roddenberry envisioned. the cold war was at its coldest point, but he said, this, too,

we can overcome. he was an extraordinary man. i think that was the key thing that contributes to its continuing popularity. >> and what was your relationship like with the other at others who became so iconic from spock to kirk? >> i received many gifts from "star trek" and one of the best is my work colleagues have become my lifetime friends. when brad and i got married, and the democracy form of the japanese american national museum in our best man was walter who played chekhov. >> what year was that? >> 2008. right before proposition eight came down for the ballot measure that banned marriage equality until the supreme court ruled on it. >> worry openly gay through all this time?

-- were you openly gay all this time? >> no. i was wanting to be an actor. work.ed to it would have been dangerous to have come out. it happened because of a political thing that happened. both houses of the california legislature passed the marriage equality bill. it was president-setting. massachusetts had marriage equality, but act through the judicial route. in california, we got it through the legislative route. that bill went to the governor's desk for his signature. the governor at that time happened to be arnold schwarzenegger. office, he through campaigned by saying, i'm from hollywood, i worked with gays and lesbians, some of my best friends are -- all the clichés. i was confident he was going to sign it. when he played to his right-wing

republican base and vetoed it, my blood was boiling. and i saw all of these young people on the evening news pouring out onto santa monica boulevard protesting the veto. participate,ed to have my voice heard. ,nd for that voice to be heard it had to be authentic. and i came out to the press. i had been out quietly -- friends, family, some relatives. but in 2005, arnold schwarzenegger's veto prompted me to speak to the press. and that is what is called coming out openly. >> i'm curious about this other life you've developed in the digital age, this enormous following you have on facebook.

could you talk about -- were you surprised by how many people want to know what you have to say? >> i was astounded first of all by the rapidity of it he of its growth and how massive it can be. i have people responding from brussels or belgium or perth, australia, or from when a series. it is global. this is gene roddenberry's vision, the starship earth. why i began social media has been altered or motive. i came across an extraordinarily gifted composer in a broadway theater, all places. we talked about the subject of

the internment of japanese americans during the second world war. and i told him that i had always on thatto write a play subject. and he thought it would be a great subject for a musical. i'm a musical theater fan, but i never thought of a musical. it was a brilliant idea. toad been on speaking tours corporations, universities, governmental agencies, but it is intellectual. and to really get people to empathize, you have to hit them emotionally. in music has the extraordinary power to do that. >> let's go to a clip. ♪

i teach you,ongs how mountains can be moved. "allegiance: a new american musical." >> is coming to broadway. that is what gave rise to my activity with social media. here's a subject that is still too little known and even less understood, and it is a rather shameful part of american history. and here we have invested so much of ourselves -- our talents, our energy, our enthusiasm, our passion, and our resources. are we going to be able to find an audience for it? and so i thought, well am a social media is the way to do it. but my face was essentially sci-fi geeks and nerds. >> where did you get the name or where did they get the name lt.

sulu? >> there's a whole story to that. jean bunbury's for found thinking -- gene roddenberry's profound thinking on this, the crew of the enterprise is to represent the diversity of this one represented africa, we had north america represented, europe. there was this character to represent asia, but asia and the mid-20th century was an area of the world that had a turbulent history of warfare, colonization, revolution. to find a name for this asian character that was not you havey specific --

, korean names.se there's a turbulent history there. he did not want to take sides. so his challenge was, how do i find a name for this character that is pan asian the represents all of asia? he was looking at a map of asia that he had pinned on his wall. he was staring at it. he saw off the coast of the philippines the sulu sea. waters ofught, the the sea touch all shores. that is how the name can about. because yet a japanese-american actor, he came up with the japanese first name. and that was taken from a great piece of japanese literature, a young prince who is great at military strategy and a poet, but also brought people together

and brought about peace. lu, otherwise known as george takei, thank you for being with us. >> i've enjoyed visiting with you. >> we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we ended the show by looking ,t a major new report titled "fracking the eagle ford shale: big oil and bad air onthe texas prairie." it is the result of an eight-month investigation by inside climate news for the center for public integrity, and the weather channel. a new investigation shedding sorry --i'm >> on all of this. >> we will have our guest talk about it now. >> we're joined in san diego by david hasemyer and in boston by

lisa song. lisa song was also part of the team that won the pulitzer prize for national reporting for the inside climate news series, "the dilbit disaster: the biggest oil spill you've never heard of." to lisa song.now can you talk about what you found in this major new report you did on fracking the eagle ford shale? >> sure, this report was done in collaboration with the center for public integrity and the weather channel. we decided to focus on air quality and air pollution issues from natural gas development instead of water. the issues with water have been looked at before. what we found in the eagle ford is the eagle ford is a huge 20,000 square mile area in south texas. right now there is one of the biggest oil and gas booms in the nation. but it hasn't gotten the national attention that places

like the marsalis shale in pennsylvania have. what you have there is south .exas has this boom looking through air permits and looking at the regulatory regime for we found there all of these facilities that the wells and compressor stations and all the infrastructure that comes with the boom that are emitting industrial sized air pollutants into the air. you're talking about things like hydrogen sulfide, which can be deadly, volatile organic compounds like benzene that can cause cancer in the long-term. and you have that alongside many, many hundreds of residential complaints about things that are related to the industry. you have residents complaining to regulators about headaches and foul odors and trouble breathing and all kinds of respiratory problems. at the same time, you have a regulatory system that knows very little about the air

quality in the area, because they have only five permanent air monitors in the entire eagle ford. and none of these monitors are in places with a lot of drilling. also, you have revelatory agencies that are very business-friendly and very closely intertwined with the oil and gas industry. and that is something that david can talk about because he looked into that. >> david, what about that? in the state of texas, it's laws a fair attitude about this kind of pollution? >> we went to texas on a number of occasions with our colleagues from the center for public integrity and the weather channel. we spent a lot of time in the homes of people, walking the farms and ranches of people who are affected by the emissions. these are folks who are longtime residents of this area and it is a very quiet area of the state

of texas. these are people who had expectations of being able to live quiet lives in retirement and to farm and ranch without the threat of development near them. in the last five years, the eagle ford has boomed. these folks who once lived in a rural area are finding themselves with dozens of wells and processing plants surrounding them. they have very few places to turn for help. they have two regulatory agencies in texas. the primary agency is the texas commission on environmental quality. this is an agency that has commissioners appointed by the governor of texas rick perry, who has made it publicly known he would like to dismantle the

epa. his attorney general has sued the epa war than a dozen times. times. than a dozen the folks in texas feel they are somewhat disenfranchised and have very few people who are on their side who can champion their cause. these are truly -- that the little people trying to fight government and trying to fight big business. >> the kind of flaring off of the gas -- i saw this in nigeria in the niger delta. at the time it wasn't even allowed in the united states. watching your video, the people complaining of feeling like an elephant is on their chest as they breathe in the soot from this flame. this is the area the size of massachusetts? >> yes, very nearly the size of massachusetts. >> so what happens now?

even if you will not allow fracking on your own property, everyone around you has this or is allowing it so you're still deeply affected. >> what we found was a clear -- there arele some people who benefited financially from this boom, and are many others who have not. it is clearly a case of the haves and have-nots. and for the people who either can't or won't lease their land to the industry, there often surrounded by neighbors who have done so. to them, they see no benefit at all and all they have are the odors and the flares and the lights and the noise pollution, traffic. all they end up seeing are the disadvantages of this boom. their lives have not gotten better, but worse. >> we have to leave it there but we will have a link to your report, lisa song and david hasemyer who worked on,

"fracking the eagle ford shale: big oil and bad air onthe texas prairie." it is an eight-month investigation done in collaboration with the weather channel and the center for public integrity. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

these films are so popular because they minister to a need in the audience to believe the whole american experiment is a success. war is mostly boredom, long periods of boredom, punctuated by terrifying madness and surrealism. but it's impossible to actually show. (explosions)